How much does it cost to advertise on Facebook? What’s the average Facebook ads CPC (cost-per-click) and CPM (cost-per-mile)? How to succeed in Facebook ad bidding?
This article’s going to answer all these questions. But first, here’s a quick answer to your question, based on research by Revealbot.
Facebook ads cost in 2020:
- The average Facebook ads CPC starts from $0.95
- The average Facebook CPM starts from $9.20
Facebook ads CPC in 2020 – Image source
Another important Facebook advertising cost metric that many advertisers keep their eye on is the CPM – cost per 1,000 views.
In June 2020, it cost between $7.90 – $9.90 to reach one thousand people with your Facebook ad.
Facebook ads CPM in 2020 – Image source
But that’s not all – we’ve also collected all the available statistics from across the web and added the latest data from 2018 and 2019.
After reading this article, you’ll have a much better overview of Facebook ads cost in 2020, including the answers to questions:
- How much you should pay for a Facebook ad click?
- Which Facebook ad placements have the lowest costs?
- How to lower the cost of Facebook ads?
Instead of saying you’re 100% guaranteed to know everything about Facebook advertising costs reading this article, we’ll say this: we did the best we could to give you an extensive overview!
Quick tip: One of the fastest ways to lower your Facebook ads cost is to improve your Facebook campaign structure.
Alright, let’s start with the most burning question:
How much does it cost to advertise on Facebook?
While there is no way to tell exactly how much you’re going to pay for a click or results on Facebook, there are some benchmarks you can follow.
For example, AdEspresso’s research of 2016 Q4 results shows that the average CPC on Facebook is anywhere between $0.20-$0.80.
Facebook ads pricing depends on multiple factors:
Factor #1. The timing of your campaign
When evaluating your Facebook ads cost, it’s important to take into account the time of year.
For example, it’s more expensive to advertise during the holidays when everyone is using Facebook advertising to increase sales.
That’s also what AdEspresso’s data shows: The most expensive months for advertising are October, November, and December.
The key takeaway here?
If your product’s sales aren’t affected by the time of year, you could spend less during the Autumn/Winter season and allocate a higher budget to Spring/Summer.
However, if the revenue you earn per sales is lower than the acquisition via Facebook ads, you should advertise all year round.
There is also a difference in your Facebook ads CPC depending on the hour of day.
As the above chart is taking into account the average per all ads analyzed, it doesn’t reflect as well on how the cost in time depends on your product.
For example, when you’re selling pizzas, people are more likely to be interested in your ads during lunch, dinner, and late at night. That’s also when your CPC will be lower.
On the other hand, promoting B2B or SaaS Facebook ads outside of office hours is likely to make those ads’ CPC higher.
Here’s an example of how a Facebook campaign’s click-through rates and CPC changes, depending on the time of day. It’s not a big difference, but when you’re tight on budget, knowing your most profitable advertising times can be a life-saver.
Factor #2. Your audience selection:
There’s a high chance you’re not selling your product to the entire population.
And your cost of Facebook ads will also depend on who it is you’re targeting. For example, it costs less to reach people aged between 18-24 than those aged 55-64.
Moreover, the gender of your target audience can make a big difference in your Facebook ads pricing.
Surprisingly, it can cost more to attain Facebook Page likes from women than from men. This could be due to more eCommerce brands targeting women.
For quick reference, here are the currently available Facebook ad placements:
- Facebook Desktop newsfeed
- Facebook Mobile newsfeed
- Instant Articles
- In-stream videos
- Facebook Desktop right column
- Instagram feed
- Instagram Stories
- Facebook Audience Network
- Facebook Messenger home
- Messenger Sponsored messages
Read more about all the Facebook ad types and their specs here: Facebook Ads Specs and Size (Always Up-to-date Guide)
AdEspresso’s data from 2016 shows that the cost-per-click of your Facebook ads variated greatly between different placements.